MADEMOISELLE FIFI, Wise's second film working as director with producer Val Lewton, provided a great challenge for the new director: creating a period film on a small budget.

Kurt Kreuger and Simone Simon

The film, an historical drama set during the Franco-Prussian war of the late 19th century, was based on the short stories "Mademoiselle Fifi" and "Boule de Suif" by Guy de Maupassant.
Lewton, who was trying to develop his reputation outside of the horror genre, offered some useful advice for developing the feel and look of the picture:

"When doing a period film, he [Lewton] would go back to the artists of the time and get prints of their key works to use as a direction in terms of composition, lighting, sets, costumes, and character types. When I did MADEMOISELLE FIFI, he said, "We must get Daumier prints."*

Well-executed sets and costumes did not make the movie fare well at the box office, however. Negative audience reaction during previews of the film seemed to be indicative of the wider theater-going public: at a time when the U.S. was fighting the Germans, the film's ending was seen as a surrender to the Prussians.

In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian
war, the little French
village of Cleresville is occupied by Prussian invaders.
In defiance of the ruthless
German officer Lt. Van Eyrick, known as Fifi because he proclaims
the town to
be his "Fifidom," the curé of Cleresville refuses to
ring the church bell.
Meanwhile, in the town of Rouen, the young priest who is to
replace the
retiring curé prays at the tomb of Joan of Arc and then
boards the coach
bound for Cleresville. Among his fellow passengers are the Count
and Countess
de Breville; a wine wholesaler and his wife; a merchant and
his wife; the
outspoken liberal Jean Cornudet and Elizabeth Rousset, a poor
laundress
returning home to Cleresville. On the long cold journey
through the barren
French countryside, Cornudet denounces the bourgeoise among
the passengers as
corrupt and self-serving. Although Elizabeth has been
snubbed by the
others, she offers to share her hamper of food with them and
later voices her
defiance of the Prussian occupiers. When the coach stops at
an inn for the
night, Van Eyrick, a guest at the inn, demands to speak to Elizabeth.
She
returns from her interview flustered, and the next morning,
Van Eyrick
refuses to allow the coach to continue unless Elizabeth agrees
to dine with
him. When Elizabeth refuses to eat with her enemies, her
fellow travelers
applaud her patriotism. As the next day dawns, however, they
grow impatient
and denounce her scruples. When Cordunet, who has expressed
his admiration
for Elizabeth, concurs with the others, she relents and agrees
to dine with
Van Eyrick. In a private dining room upstairs, Van
Eyrick tries to
humiliate Elizabeth and break her spirit, while downstairs,
the others
celebrate. The next morning, when Von Eyrick announces
that he plans to ride
the coach to Cleresville, the passengers welcome him and snub
Elizabeth. In
Cleresville, Elizabeth, Van Eyrick and the priest leave the
coach, and after
the others begin to make snide comments about the laundress,
Cornudet
denounces them for betraying her and goes to beg her forgiveness.
Although
Elizabeth refuses his apology, her defiance has renewed his
sense of
patriotism, and he vows to defend the bell against the Prussian
soldiers.
Meanwhile, at the chateau, the bored Prussian officers decide
to throw a
party and send the corporal to town to find five beautiful girls
to entertain
them. When the corporal states that the Prussians will
take their business
away from her aunt's laundry unless Elizabeth joins them, she
has no choice
but to attend the party. Before the festivities begin,
the Prussian captain
decides to visit the church with his troops to ring the bell,
but he is met
by an armed Cordunet, who shoots him and runs away. Learning
that Elizabeth
has gone to the chateau, Cordunet follows her there. Meanwhile,
at the
party, Elizabeth is paired with the haughty Van Eyrick. Infuriated
by his
boasts of French cowardice, she stabs him and flees the chateau.
When
Cornudet pulls her into a passageway to protect her from the
soldiers, her
faith is restored by his newfound patriotism. The two
find refuge in the
church, and when the Prussians order the bell to be rung at
Van Eyrick's
funeral, the priest agrees, knowing that Elizabeth has already
struck the
first blow for freedom by killing the Prussian officer.
As the bell peals,
signaling an awakening of pride and resistance in the village,
Cornudet
leaves to join the resistance fighters.

From the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

Captain Carl F. Cook, a German naval officer who served in World War I, acted as the film's technical advisor.